It’s what’s for lunch!
It’s the time of the month, to clean the refrigerator. What better way than to plan new recipes!
I’ve tried a Mango and Spinach Salad and a Mediterranean Spinach Salad. This one is a cross between the two. What better way then to combine/refresh old recipes.
This time with some avocado!
Continue to read here for the recipe.
Cherry is the name so far, and I am on a roll snagging cherries from the groceries and trying new recipes while I can before they run out!
Here is an easy recipe for that office day meal.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup pitted fresh cherries
1-2 tbsp walnuts ( or use slivered almonds)
1-2 tbsp sliced red onion
1/2 avocado, diced
a few roasted coconut slices
Dressing:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp while wine vinegar
salt
fresh ground pepper
Layer a bed of spinach. Add sliced and pitted cherries, nuts, red onion and avocado. Top with some roasted coconut slices.
Drizzle dressing as desired before serving or enjoying for a refreshing office day lunch!
One reason, I was excited to try this recipe was that it used all my favorite vegetables, was egg less and used less cheese.
I only made 1/4 of the recipe. The book Vegetarian Times cooks Mediterranean has many healthy recipes, but one downside is that there are only a few photographs of the final product. I don’t know if what I made looks anything close to what it is supposed to look like. I only have to go with the final taste and whether I like it or not. This one was a little difficult, since I was using phyllo sheets and I wasn’t sure how to fold or create a tart. Methinks pastry sheets might have been good here? The end product was delicious, although I am not sure it looked good and professional. A photograph in the book would have been good!
Either way, I had used only a quarter of the phyllo sheets to make Baklava, so I could keep the rest to try other fun recipes from the book.
Ingredients:
2 oz of dry, sun-dried tomatoes (I think I used a little more)
1-2 tbsp milk (add as needed)
5 oz of fresh spinach (or frozen)
1.5 oz goat cheese (I used feta instead)
1/4 phyllo sheets
1/8 cup fresh rosemary
1 scallion, trimmed and minced
1 medium zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced (I didn’t have any)
1-2 roasted peppers, cut long
3-4 oz marinated artichokes
a few basil leaves
pine nuts (I didn’t use any)
white wine (I didn’t use any)
1 garlic clove
olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Soak sun dried tomatoes in boiling water for 7-10 minutes. Slice thinly.
I used fresh red pepper. So I sliced them thinly, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
Process spinach,milk, cheese, garlic, scallion, rosemary, salt and pepper until smooth. If mixture is too dry, add more milk.
Place a skillet on the stove, add olive oil, white wine (I used white wine vinegar instead :-)), salt and pepper and saute on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to paper towels. Add onions to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. Add mushrooms if using and saute for 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to dry.
Line a deep dish pan with phyllo sheets. I used quartered sheets, so I layered them to complete the corners of the circular dish. Brush each sheet lightly with olive oil. Continue piling until all sheets are gone. Fold down the edges over the dish. Spread the spinach mixture over the crust. Add sauted zucchini, onions, mushrooms if using, roasted peppers, sheaun dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. Bake for 15 minutes. If the crust is browning, turn the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, else continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes until the phyllo is golden and crisp.
Sprinkle with fresh basil, and pine nuts. Tuck in some fresh sprigs of rosemary and serve warm.
Makes about 3-4 helpings.
Recently, during a flying trip, I picked up some wraps from Starbucks as snacks. I wasn’t sure if I would have time to halt for lunch and seeing them on the menu, I knew they were perfect snack to fill in until the next meal. And I was right. They were delicious!
Since then, I have been itching to make them at home. And here’s how I made mine.
Ingredients:
Sun dried tomato, jalapeno and garlic hummus (BTW Starbucks used Edamame hummus & garlic and herb cheese spread)
1 Spinach tortilla
a handful of edamame, shelled (optional)
2-3 mini zucchini, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced or chapped
a handful of spinach leaves
To make wraps, lay out a tortilla. Generously apply 1-2 tbsp of hummus. Layer thinly sliced zucchini, red bell peppers, edamame (optional) and spinach. Drizzle some lemon juice. Roll into a wrap and slice into two or three mini wraps.
Delicious! I think the hummus makes the difference 🙂
See Also:
Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno Hummus
It’s the time of the month, to clean the refrigerator. What better way than to plan new recipes!
I’ve tried a Mango and Spinach Salad and a Mediterranean Spinach Salad. This one is a cross between the two. What better way then to combine/refresh old recipes.
Ingredients:
1/2 Mango(Mexican) chopped
1/4 Farro cooked
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper chopped
1/8 Red Onion chopped
1/8 Cucumber chopped
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes sliced or whole
1 cup baby Spinach (Optional)
2-3 tbsp Feta Cheese
Dressing
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Lemon Juice as needed
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
Cook the Farro as per directions, and set aside. Typically bring 1/2 cup water to boil. Add farro and cook on medium low until cooked, adding additional water as needed.
When ready to eat, combine all ingredients lightly, toss with dressing and serve on a bed of spinach!
Fly 'n Cook 